Quake Wars

[Kail]

That's the second time you've called it "generic", it's a first person shooter, I'm not sure what you are hoping for from this genre...  It's always going to boil down to one group of polygons shooting at another with textures varying from WW2 to aliens to terrorists etc, etc.  There isn't a whole lot of room for innovation, at most you can make the groups of polygons be vehicles instead of people.

I don't know that I agree with that.  There are plenty of interesting looking FPSes.  There's Bioshock, tao just mentioned Team Fortress 2, I'd even say that stuff like Unreal Tournament and Quake 2 has more originality than this.  It's not impossible to design an original looking FPS.  Here, it looks like they just took soldiers and made them... well, nothing, actually...  It looks like they just took soldiers and called it a day.  It's not that they're bad, it's just that they didn't do anything I haven't already seen.  Thus, I consider them generic.

It's not like I'm saying this game is bad or anything, just that I'm not seeing really much that's new.  I realize the genre is pretty flooded with WWII stuff and the like, but I'm not rushing out to buy the newest Medal of Honor on the belief that it can't possibly get any more original than this.  id just seems a bit further behind the curve on this one than I'm used to them being, I guess is all.

Edit: fixing quotes

[Chenghiz]

The GDF are pretty generic human soldier dudes. The Strogg have some pretty unique differences from the GDF classes, and overall there's a real differentiation between classes and roles that make it a great multiplayer game in my opinion.

As for graphics, the game really does look like that and it runs very smoothly on my computer, although rarely are you going to be close enough to any of the player models to spend time looking at the detail. If you want a general idea of how it plays, play its predecessor, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (it's free and it'll probably run swimmingly on your computer). Quake Wars is a straight improvement upon ET.

[Sairon]

I have a core 2 duo with 8800 GTS and 2 gigs of RAM and can't play it above medium settings without getting horrid slow downs. The graphics doesn't look anything remotely close to those screenshots for me, the texture ressolution is insanely low. Also as mentioned, the art direction is very boring and doesn't give you any doom vibes at all. My main complaint steemed from a technical pov though.

[Chenghiz]

I have a core 2 duo with 8800 GTS and 2 gigs of RAM and can't play it above medium settings without getting horrid slow downs. The graphics doesn't look anything remotely close to those screenshots for me, the texture ressolution is insanely low. Also as mentioned, the art direction is very boring and doesn't give you any doom vibes at all. My main complaint steemed from a technical pov though.

I have the same system (less ram actually) and it runs fine for me at mid to high settings.

[Azazel]

wow that game truly sucks balls.

Very pretty. But the Strogg have a little too much of "so what the fuck is this stupid looking, oddly-named thing supposed to be?". Also, it's very instagib-spamfest, but without the "haha I died but that was ace fun" of TF2.

[taolurker]

I am really enjoying this game, but I don't expect everyone to instantly like it, or take to it immediately.

It's not as much a spam fest as you think, and it requires just as much strategy and teamwork as TF2 probably does. It looks really good, and moves smoothly even when it gets really hectic, with my only complaint being the Battlefield vehicle camping newb aspect. Crouching, walking, prone and (right click) scoping all increase accuracy, the GDF Shotgun is mega awesome at close range, and nearly everything seems balanced when your team is balanced and does their job.

I have yet to play on a server where I haven't been Best Medic/Technician, but it's not hard since the other medics aren't bringing back dead players and only use healpacks for themselves. I also haven't been on that many servers where people on my team actually are a team, know how to drive without running over teammates, or who know the map.

The play vs computer opponents is what I recommend until you figure out the map layout, proper settings and weapons/vehicles some, but after getting past the learning curve I can't see any reason to not like this.

I'm dying to try TF2, but I also don't think it will run as smooth for me, and this game is serious competition for TF2 and the Steam Orange Box, although it seems like it'll just be multiplayer at the same price point. If I could test/preview TF2 as a free preview download they'd maybe get my $$, but right now I'm considering this game because I know it will run/play.

[Trippy]

The Source engine runs better on lower end machines than the DOOM 3 engine so I would be very surprised if TF2 ran worse than QW is running for you now.

[Miasma]

TF2 seems to have taken a WoW like move and went for a somewhat comic look allowing them to be less resource intensive.  If you can run quake wars I'm sure you'll be able to run TF2 better.  Unless you get the constant hard crash sound bug like I do :-(.

At first I didn't like the high speed pace of QW but now when I play TF2 I find it very, very slow.  I'm also lost without a map and will have to create my own server and run through it to find out where everything is.

[Mrbloodworth]

TF2 seems to have taken a WoW like move and went for a somewhat comic look allowing them to be less resource intensive.  If you can run quake wars I'm sure you'll be able to run TF2 better.  Unless you get the constant hard crash sound bug like I do :-(.

At first I didn't like the high speed pace of QW but now when I play TF2 I find it very, very slow.  I'm also lost without a map and will have to create my own server and run through it to find out where everything is.

Eh, don't count out the overhead of that cell shader, and shadows.

I don't think there are better FPS, in regards to the two being discussed here, i just think they re different. Quakewars, TF2, BF_xx, Planetside, Unreal, GRAW; all different "Styles" of FPS action.

[LK]

Man, everyone I know is ragging on Quake Wars, but I love it.  Probably because I'm awesome at it.  I like the wide open maps, the mission system, the variation between the two sides, the "glee" moments like killing someone with a Flying Drone, a Headshot from a mile away with a sniper rifle / railgun, air striking, Cyclops Spam, Tank Spam, Covert Ops disguise, etc. etc. etc.

[Azazel]

I very much liked BF1942, and both DC and BF2 after it, despite the differences in pacing. I used to love Wolf MP, didn't bother much with ET though. I think it must have been around when 1942 came out. I actually expected to really like QW and it was on my "pretty safe to buy" list. I usually like a variety of MP FPS games, after all..

I might try a bit of SP and see what I think before writing it off.

[AcidCat]

I actually expected to really like QW and it was on my "pretty safe to buy" list.

Same here, but something about the game just didn't grab me. After playing a couple rounds of TF2 I just went ahead and uninstalled the QW demo.

[CharlieMopps]

This game is absolutely awful.

It looks like their idea men did a good job. They have a lot of really neat concepts... but very poorly implemented. I like deploying artillery and then choosing a target. But the map is so small and the range is horrible. Someone else mentioned that the strog weapons are interesting but its hard to understand what they are... and thats true... I had no idea what to do with most of their weapons. This sort of thing should be intuitive. The graphics are poor... but at least my frame rate was good.

The games being released with 12 maps? That's it?!?! And the demo map is so unbelievably small... Oh, and did I mention that the demo crashes... A LOT Using the server filters is a guaranteed CTD

I don't know what they were thinking but there is no way in hell anyones paying $50 for this pile of shit.

[LK]

Range is fine on artillery. I really don't know what you're talking about, unless you're trying to use the Smoke version rather than the Targeting version.

Strogg weapons took some getting used to, but they are not that hard to differentiate if you've played GDI or spend at least more than 1 second looking at them.  I would call that intuitive unless you're dumb, then really nothing's going to help you.

12 maps seems a lot when Warhawk and TF2 only have 5-6 apiece, despite the "variations" that each map can hold.  Kudos to Warhawk though for making the same maps very different depending on game mode, player size, etc.  What I want to know is their post-launch strategy, if / when new maps will be introduced.

I did encounter some trouble with server filters freezing my client for a bit, but no crashes.  Maybe update your drivers.  Demo Map (Valley) is like a fucking open-air stadium compared to some other game maps like TF2.

[Chenghiz]

Using the server filters is a guaranteed CTD

My friend had a problem like this but I have not. It might be a driver thing.

[CharlieMopps]

Range is fine on artillery. I really don't know what you're talking about, unless you're trying to use the Smoke version rather than the Targeting version.

Strogg weapons took some getting used to, but they are not that hard to differentiate if you've played GDI or spend at least more than 1 second looking at them.  I would call that intuitive unless you're dumb, then really nothing's going to help you.

12 maps seems a lot when Warhawk and TF2 only have 5-6 apiece, despite the "variations" that each map can hold.  Kudos to Warhawk though for making the same maps very different depending on game mode, player size, etc.  What I want to know is their post-launch strategy, if / when new maps will be introduced.

I did encounter some trouble with server filters freezing my client for a bit, but no crashes.  Maybe update your drivers.  Demo Map (Valley) is like a fucking open-air stadium compared to some other game maps like TF2.

I remember when FPS games came with 20 to 30 maps AND a map editor. Now you're lucky if you get 10 and it takes them a year or more to release a map editor that basically can't be used. Screw that. And they wonder why PC gaming is dead...

As far as artillery range goes... Artilary should be able to hit anywhere on the map when the maps are as small as this games are.

Using the server filters is a guaranteed CTD

My friend had a problem like this but I have not. It might be a driver thing.

Drivers don't crash database filters... bad programming does.

[Trippy]

I remember when FPS games came with 20 to 30 maps AND a map editor. Now you're lucky if you get 10 and it takes them a year or more to release a map editor that basically can't be used. Screw that. And they wonder why PC gaming is dead...

Maps back then were a heck of a lot smaller and orders of magnitude less detailed than they are now. Also the recent id games come with a map editor built-in (d3radiant, q4radiant). Quake Wars will presumably come with one as well.

[taolurker]

The lockups on Server filters is something that (I'm hoping) the devs are aware of, because I saw numerous complaints about this on their forums. The problem seems to be that adding new filters makes the server list refresh and try and load in the background while you are still adjusting the filters. The easy way to not have this happen is to select LAN or history first before trying to adjust the server filters.

Basically every other thing CharlieMopps said is the opinion of someone who played this game for 35 seconds, because the single map is huge, the weapons are easy to figure out after a couple of tries and even the turret distance seems perfect after playing a couple of rounds.

I already suggested that people need to try this against the computer first, especially to tweak their settings and get the hang of the map or the classes.

[Miasma]

It comes out today but everyone is too busy either playing TF2 or getting ready for Hellgate and UT3 to notice.  Pretty bad timing in what is a very competitive genre this year.

Edit: added a sentence.

[Yegolev]

keke

[Rasix]

Too much brown. 

This one for me was significantly less fun than TF2.  Plus, I was just really, really bad at it.  I've been able to jump back into competitive FPS titles with TF2 while still feeling useful (if still noobish), but I felt like a toddler playing against men trying this one out.

Did Quake peak with Q2 RA?

[LK]

Nobody in my area apparently has the game, claiming it all comes out tomorrow.

Did they mean October 2 as the ship date instead of the fucking release date? They got the new NBA games out today.

I swear to god the games industry is fucking retarded when it comes to telling you when you can go to the store and buy a game.

[Morfiend]

Too much brown. 

This one for me was significantly less fun than TF2.  Plus, I was just really, really bad at it.  I've been able to jump back into competitive FPS titles with TF2 while still feeling useful (if still noobish), but I felt like a toddler playing against men trying this one out.

Did Quake peak with Q2 RA?

See, I like ETQW and TF2, but I am way way better at ETQW for some reason. As has been stated before. I pretty much totally suck at TF2 except for the medic, and playing a medic my fingers get tired quickly from constantly holding down the heal button.

[Trippy]

Too much brown. 

This one for me was significantly less fun than TF2.  Plus, I was just really, really bad at it.  I've been able to jump back into competitive FPS titles with TF2 while still feeling useful (if still noobish), but I felt like a toddler playing against men trying this one out.

Did Quake peak with Q2 RA?

No it peaked with QuakeWorld TWCTF. I still haven't found a FPS with faster PvP gameplay than that mod.

[Miasma]

Launch day.

Servers Found: 1425    That's really good, quite a lot!
Players Found: 1632     Holy crap it's launch day and there are only 1600 people playing right now...  that's abysmal.

[Trippy]

I think there's a counting issue somewhere. game-monitor.com is showing roughly the same number of servers (which includes demo servers) but 4,600 players as of right now:

http://www.game-monitor.com/search.php?game=etqw

[Falwell]

Nobody in my area apparently has the game, claiming it all comes out tomorrow.

Did they mean October 2 as the ship date instead of the fucking release date? They got the new NBA games out today.

I swear to god the games industry is fucking retarded when it comes to telling you when you can go to the store and buy a game.

Ship on Monday, shelves on Tuesday. When you're not sure, this is almost always the safe bet.

[Kail]

Nobody in my area apparently has the game, claiming it all comes out tomorrow.

Ship on Monday, shelves on Tuesday. When you're not sure, this is almost always the safe bet.

This is Tuesday, though.  And it wasn't on the shelves here, either.

[Falwell]

Nobody in my area apparently has the game, claiming it all comes out tomorrow.

Ship on Monday, shelves on Tuesday. When you're not sure, this is almost always the safe bet.

This is Tuesday, though.  And it wasn't on the shelves here, either.

Then I would definitely try to work a big kick in the balls for your local game store clerk into the schedule. Got mine this morning from Gamestop.

[LK]

It's alright.  My hard drive literally popped a gasket and I spent all night repairing it with a new one.  So now I'm really ready for Quake Wars.

And yes, fuck my local gaming stores.  All of them.

[MrHat]

I think I saw this on Steam yesterday.

I remember because it struck me kinda ironic.

[LK]

It comes out on the 9th on Steam though.

The game store where I had my reserve bungled getting the game in stock today, so I went to the competition and lo and behold, they had some.

[Miasma]

I think this game is only going to be good if you're part of a clan, and I'm not joining a clan...  One coordinated group with voice communication (of which there is none in game) can completely dominate a map on the offensive side.  Some of the maps have goals complex enough to require coordination, there is one map in which the Strogg have to capture three fuel cells and get them to a ship to complete its self destruct sequence so that the humans can't reverse engineer it.  That would be fine if we could all focus on one cell at a time and then fire artillery to clear the area around the ship just before we arrive but in reality all that winds up happening is a dozen people running around with energy cells and getting cut to ribbons in front of the ship (where the humans have their fortified base).

Very frustrating.

[schild]

Sounds like we're seeing the difference between id and Valve here.

[Moaner]

I really want to stand up for ID here, but I can't.  TF2 is much more enjoyable and much closer to the old school run and gun team based shooters I loved so much in my teens.  The QW demo was just underwhelming after a week of TF2 :(

However, I just ordered my new computer through newegg yesterday and my 8800gtx comes with a copy of QW.  So, I will give it a few evenings worth of attention and see how the final games shapes up.  I have my fingers crossed.